Reactions to large game updates always come in two phases: the "wow cool" phase that plays out as folks try out the major new stuff, and the "hey wait a minute" phase that follows once players realize the consequences of the patch notes' fine print.
The "hey wait a minute" moment for Arc Raiders' Shrouded Sky update was a change to the Wolfpack, a dominant seeking grenade that does massive damage and players rely on to easily destroy some of the most troublesome Arc. Previously a relatively cheap crafting recipe, making a Wolfpack now also requires a rare component from the Rocketeer: an ultra-lethal and especially hated Arc that is, paradoxically, the preferred target of the Wolfpack grenade. As Evan wrote yesterday, it's a balancing change that will "alter the fate and behavior of countless raiders."
[Fun fact: Did you know Wolfpack grenades are named after the Gjallarhorn rocket launcher in Destiny, which fires Wolfpack rounds that also split into multiple seeking submunitions that do an ass-ton of damage.]
There was enough uproar about the Wolfpack change that Embark felt the need to address the crafting update directly on Discord. Its reasoning won't come as a huge surprise: the Wolfpack was too good for how cheap it is, and now it's not.
"We understand your frustrations with the new crafting recipes. We adjusted the Wolfpack recipe by adding a Rocketeer Driver and removing two Explosive Compounds to bring the ratio of cost vs effectiveness more in line with the trend of other items," Embark community rep Ossen said in the statement. "Wolfpacks offered a lot for their cost (fast deployment, auto-tracking, and very high damage), so rather than diminish the capability of the Wolfpack itself, we opted to adjust the crafting components to better reflect its power."
While some players will ultimately disagree with Embark's assessment of the Wolfpack, I find its method of knocking the grenade down a peg encouraging: Don't decrease the Wolfpack's worth by taking away its punch, make the Wolfpack a truly valuable find. This sort of indirect nerf is common in genres that blend combat and crafting, but as Arc Raiders is the first extraction shooter for many, the annoyance is understandable.
It's clear that Embark wants to draw a larger distinction between low-tier, mid-tier, and high-tier gear. The same patch notes included widespread nerfs for two popular common weapons, the Kettle and Stitcher, that were widely considered so good that you don't really need to bother crafting anything better. That will likely change now, and encourage players to rely less on free loadouts to be successful. In today's statement, Embark also acknowledged that the Il Toro shotgun's power is getting a hard look:
"We see your comments about the need to adjust the effectiveness of the IL Toro and that work is currently underway but our goal is to approach these changes carefully to ensure they’re well-tested before going live. Balancing weapons is an ongoing priority for the team."
Looks like that stockpile of 12 Wolfpacks I've been hoarding since November just spiked in value… any takers?
